A study of local context has revealed that universal relief strategies are failing to meet the needs of those who have just lived through the traumatic experience of losing their primary dwelling. Where as conventional ‘donor’ structures may economically shelter the body, they neglect to address issues of home and belonging. The hypothesis argues that shelter after disaster is not just a temporary solution but rather a ‘starter kit’ with the potential of becoming a home. Hence shelter is the beginning of a process, that involves first a sign of the event of dwelling before it can host a more complex scope of concerns. While acknowledging that the design cannot be site specific, the proposal responds to regional disasters within greater Tshwane region, through a comprehensive investigation of context, climate and selected case studies. Set within the reality of monotonous modular design the project seeks to provide a flexible and innovative shelter typology that can remain on site, providing a period of grace. Thus enabling the displaced to focus on rebuilding their homes without living with the fear of their tent being reclaimed. The project conducts a critical investigation into rapidly deployable structure. The object of the study is to highlight the potential of cardboard as an alternative building material. Copyright / Dissertation (MInt(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

The goal in my bachelor thesis has been to create a multifunctional furniture, a product in which the form has followed the function to allow the user variation for the body and practical functions. The purpose of this project has been to encourage reduction of unnecessary furniture within compact living spaces and instead offer better solutions to practical multifunctional furniture. In my research phase for this project I studied different forms of multifunctional furniture on the market as well as carried out different observational studies of student living and how students generally use their furniture. The first being various visits to different student rums and apartments. The other being a closer study at Malmstens school in which I allowed students to create their own space and interact with the furniture to study how the students used the furniture and how the students sat in the furniture. A basic, yet crucial, survey about multifunctional furniture was sent out to gather information on what people do at home and what type of furniture people prefer if they were to live in a compact space. The research gathered led to the next phase of the project in which many different sketching techniques, both 2d and 3d, resulted in a multifunctional furniture which offers variation within sitting and practical use. As a result of the analysis a furniture prototype will be built and shown at Malmstens Spring Exhibition and Vallastaden Living and House Society Exhibit in September 2017. / I detta examensarbete har målet varit att skapa en multifunktionell möbel, en produkt där form följer funktion som erbjuder variation både för kroppen och för praktiska funktioner. Syftet med att uppnå detta mål är att uppmuntra till minimering av antalet möbler på en begränsad yta och därmed bidra till minskad konsumtion och erbjuda fler praktiska lösningar i hemmet. Jag vill upplysa om och uppmuntra tanken att möbler kan passa människans flexibla behov. En insamlingsetapp av information från studiebesök, deltagande observationer, en enkät och en omvärldsanalys har lett till en god uppfattning om hur människor kan möblera i framtiden. Under dessa observationsstudier besöktes olika former av studentboende med fokus på att observera förhållande mellan hur möbeln användes och placeras i rummet. I den andra studien som ägde rum på Malmstensskolan skapades ett påhittat rum som fick inredas av olika studenter för att se vilka funktioner möbeln användes till och hur studenten rörde sig i sina möbler. Undersökningen har lett till en omfattande skissprocess med olika skissmetoder. Resultatet är en multifunktionell möbel som ger variation för både sittande och praktiskt användning. Utifrån detta examensarbete tillverkas en prototyp som ska ställas ut vid Malmstens Vårutställning 2017 och vid Vallastaden Bo- och Samhällsexpo 2017.